Safety
by Nae'ka
Summary: The Irken before her made an expression she didn't recognize and set his hand upon hers. "Don't worry, you're safe now. They're gone." What an odd Invader he was…


Part 1 of my 57 pairings challenge I made for myself. A link to my deviantart is on my profile and you can see the full list there.

Enjoy!

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She only briefly remembered seeing him in training and the memory of his assignment of Blorch was hindered by her own assignment.

The Tallest were taking their sweet time getting her away from the TERRIBLE situation they had created on Meekrob. To make things worse, when they finally decided to attempt to do something, they couldn't just choose an Invader to get her. No, that wouldn't be entertaining enough to please them. They decided to hold a battle of the SIR-units. The last one standing would be the one allowed to rescue her. It was by FAR the most offensive thing that had ever happened to her.

As she waited the result, her situation didn't get any better. It had been nearly three Meekrobian days and there still wasn't a decision. She remembered almost having given up hope, the small hide out she managed to create, being surrounded by malfunctioning SIR-units. She had almost given up hope, hiding her face and turning away from them when she heard the sound of multiple lazers being shot… She prepared herself for what was surely to come…

But nothing happened.

She uncovered her face and looked up to see a short and stout Irken jump out of a standard Voot Cruiser. She cried out and ran, as fast as her skinny legs could take her, to the ship. Curled in the seat and ignoring the Irken that had just saved her, she tried to steady her breath… Still, a small whimper escaped her.

Soon, the Irken was with her again and they were in the air and soon, leaving the destroyed planet of Meekrob behind. Still a bit shaky, Tenn opened her eyes and dared to look back at the retreating planet… She wondered briefly if this was truly happening, or if it was just an illusion brought on by exhaustion and several deep wounds.

"You'll be alright."

It had startled her, but after gasping, she actually managed to get a decent look at her rescuer… It took a while, but she knew who he was. Invader Skoodge, conqueror of Blorch.

Or at least, he would have been, if the Tallest would have allowed him to be acknowledged… The more she thought about them, the sicker she felt. She forced herself to shove the ideas out of her mind and focus on getting herself put back together.  
Invader Skoodge had put the ship on autopilot and was now looking her over. "They got you pretty good, huh?"

She let out a bitter laugh, unable to speak yet and not quite willing to try.

The Irken before her made an expression she didn't recognize and set his hand upon hers. "Don't worry, you're safe now. They're gone." What an odd Invader he was… She pulled her hand away from his and faced forward, body shaking again. "Oh uh… sorry… That's something I learned where I'm staying. A comfort thing, I guess." He faced away from her now too, expressionless.

"Where you're staying…" Speaking felt odd to her, it had been so long since she had seen anyone that wasn't trying to… to…

"Yes. Planet Earth. It's a really dirty planet, but far away from everything. Zim hates it, but it's not that bad." He leaned back in his seat. "Make the most of what you have, right?"

What.

"So you won then?" Tenn changed the subject quickly, somehow unnerved at the idea of an accomplished invader being subjected to something so terrible.

"Nah." Tenn's eyes were immediately on him now, antennae high above her head. "But Zim's SIR kind of… messed things up again. I think it would have taken them forever."

"But the Tallest said it was a requirement for any Invader to partici-"

"I am not going to be an on-call Invader." He sounded calm, but there was something hidden in that sentence… "So I'm not an Invader at all. I helped you as a civilian."

"You… saved me for no reason?"

"Not 'no reason', Tenn. I saved you because you were in danger and the… Empire was going to let you die, if it meant the competition wasn't over yet." She turned to face him completely now, eyes wide, "I don't care what they think, the winner can go kill SIR units or something, if they ever get one."

He was silent now, but she knew there was something in him… something that HAD changed. He wasn't just going to sit back and accept what the Tallest had done to him, as hard as it made his life now…

She set her hand on his arm. "Thank you, Skoodge."

His antennae twitched and he set his other hand gently on top of hers. "It's no problem."


End file.
